For a moment, Mira felt more close to Akina, so it occurred to her to ask her something she was curious to know: "Big sister, did it take you so long in the past to also learn to absorb mana?"
"Yeah...At that time Ryota and I only succeeded after two full weeks of training. Our coach Uncle Cesar had told us that he himself only managed to do it after trying for two years, and there are those who took longer. That is why your lack of success so far is considered normal and there is no need to depress yourself."
"I knew you were able to sense the mana particles, which is really a great achievement." Akina spoke leisurely and tried to lift Mira's spirits, in fact she wasn't exaggerating what she said.
As for Mira, she still wanted to succeed before the three left and did not back down from her insistence even after listening to Akina.
This time she wanted to make sure of something else: "Sister Akina, what about big brother Kotaro? Is he the same as you?"
"He…" Akina became a little sensitive about this question.
"What is it? Is it possible that it took him more time than you two?"
"No, it's not like that."
"Kotaro is a special case for all the mages in the world. Not only has he succeeded from his first attempt at mana training, but he also possesses two different types of magic, fire and gravity."
"This…," Mira was surprised. She had expected Kotaro's record to be amazing but she had never imagined it would be so fantastical and terrifying, and then when she remembered how Kotaro had praised her before, she couldn't help but laugh at herself.
There was a part of her that wanted to get past Kotaro but now she knew that she could never do that and that made her a little frustrated.
"That was how I felt before, too."
"But there's no need to be ashamed...if you can't catch up with him then at least don't allow yourself to get away from him. Right?" As if she knew what she was thinking, Akina took her two little hands and gently encouraged her.
"What are you gossiping about? and… Where is Ryota?" At this time Kotaro suddenly woke up and interrupted the two girls' conversation, even though he had heard everything they said.
"Eh.. I don't know... he'll be back in a little while." Akina turrned silent quickly and then answered calmly.
Mira's training resumed: "Come on, Mira, only 6 hours left. Let's not waste any more time."
"Yes!".
"Older sister!… I will do as you said." Mira was happy and excited. After Akina's advice, her thoughts became smoother and she realized her goal more clearly now.
...
Within the village where Kotaro, Akina and Ryota lived some hot events in the past, the Fog Village. No one knew about this, but a great misfortune was happening in the place.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh…" The cry of one of the traders in the daily market was unconsciously released but it was the man's last hope before his head fell next to his body, staring into the shadow of the man who killed him.
Another woman who was pregnant ran towards the exit of the village, but "Bang!" her corpse was mercilessly charred by a pillar of flame before she reached.
"Fooosh.." Blood stained the village lanes, and the stench of fresh meat filled the air and permeated everywhere. The screaming of adults and the crying of children were heard in all corners, but this did not affect the heart of the perpetrators, and they continued to paint their way in red.
Everyone died differently. A man cut in half, or a father who died while cuddling his daughter, an old man who had his head cut off and he had no more than a month to live, a child stabbed in the chest, or a sleeping couple who were burned with their house.
The number of victims was increasing every second, and only five minutes had passed since the beginning of this catastrophe, so it was imaginable what would happen.
"Who are you monsters? What has our village done to you?" At the moment, the last survivor of the village cried out in despair. He was filled with fear and dread as he addressed the three people in front of him.
One of the invaders replied while the man's neck was at the mercy of his fist, he laughed with pleasure: "You did nothing, but you knew something that you should not know."
"Now, are you going to tell me where the people who defeated Selania went or do I cut off your head here and at once?" the enemy threatened with his cold smile, with pressure that cannot be refused.
"Go to the he...".
"Slash...".
"roll",
"roll".
"Huh… why do these people love death so much?"
At this moment, a frightening calm became the only thing that pervaded the village. If there was a word to describe the desperate and bloody sight of the place, in short, it was 'massacre'. The Fog Village, which was once one of the most beautiful villages in the eastern region, has turned into something that will only be mentioned in history.
But no one knew that this incident would only be the ignition fuse of something more ferocious.
...
Not only Kotaro, but even Akina and Ryota, their focus and eyes turned to Mira.
Time ran out quickly and she was now retrying to absorb mana one last time before the three left.
She came under the nearby olive tree and squatted while closing her eyes, letting her body sag and not letting her posture be neglected just because of her excitement, gathering strength after adjusting her breathing and entering a meditative state.
Although she was going to continue training even after the three left, she wanted to succeed before they went.
a quarter of an hour later,
Mira opened her eyes, unfortunately and as expected, she failed.
At this moment, involuntarily, tears began to fall down her red cheeks. She wrapped her slender arms around her legs and placed her head between them. Never in her life had she felt such great sadness and frustration.
She didn't even want to look at the faces of the three especially Kotaro. She wished she would disappear into a hole and shut herself up forever.
"what are you doing?" However, Kotaro walked towards her with his stern expression. He grabbed her lightly and without warning by her dress from behind and lifted her into mid-air like a little bag hanging from the top.
Ryota and Akina were watching from close and were surprised by Kotaro's action. As for Mira, her face turned red and she was embarrassed to be treated like a small child. She tried to break free while screaming femininely: "Brother Kotaro, please... leave me, I will fall like this."
"Are you talking now?...I will ask you again, what are you doing?"
"Did you finish your training so that you stopped and sat crying like a child?"
"This... I couldn't make it before you left. I felt like I didn't deserve all the time and effort big brother wasted for me. I'm really sorry to disappoint you," Mira's voice was filled with unhappiness mixed with some shyness.
"Cut that nonsense and continue your training. If you stop now, then you're really going to make me disappointed, so wipe your tears and get ready to start over," Kotaro said as he released Mira's dress from his hand.
"Sop, sob… Okay." Mira shook her head while wiping her tears.
"For us, it's time to go again. I don't want you to be lazy about training just because we're not by your side. You're going to have some problems because there's no one to support you, but I think you can get through it," Kotaro smiled, patting Mira on the head and telling her his latest recommendations, while she listened with interest.
"take! Keep this with you until the right time comes!" Kotaro stretched out his hand and took out something that Uncle Cesar had given him before, 'the yellow detemag paper' that can determine the type of a person's magic.
"When you succeed in mana training, you will then have to know your type of magic, and this paper will help you with that. You only have to put drops of blood on it and the paper will change according to the nature of your magic."
"After that, using magic will not be a problem, but developing it is what you will have to work on. Also, you have to create your own fighting technique if you want your style to be unique."
"That's it...Maybe our paths will cross in the future, so be a powerful mage until then." Kotaro took his last look at Mira before turning around and starting to walk in the opposite direction.
As for Mira, she didn't want to not say anything, and after holding her crying with difficulty, she bowed thankfully: "Big brother, thank you. Big sister and brother Ryota, you too, I hope we meet one day."
The three smiled, and with this short farewell, each began his journey towards his goal again. Mira resumed training with greater determination, and the three friends continued their travels as planned.
...
Another day later, they reached their destination, the City of Magic.